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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443714">Dream and Dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/minorin/pseuds/minorin'>minorin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Except that Sean lives, Fix-It, Gen, Lone Wolf Ending (Life is Strange 2)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:48:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/minorin/pseuds/minorin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sean falls asleep and has a talk with Esteban.<br/>Based on Lone Wolf ending, except that Sean lives.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daniel Diaz &amp; Sean Diaz, Esteban Diaz &amp; Sean Diaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dream and Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A stream of light is floating right in front of him, and Sean reaches his hand trying to grab it.</p>
<p>The light escapes his fingers, and he wakes up suddenly as if surfacing from some lukewarm darkness, finding himself on the old couch in their house in Seattle. Lazy orange color spreads through the room, indicating that the time is probably around three or four in the afternoon.</p>
<p>He doesn’t remember when he fell asleep, and can’t tell the pain in his neck is the result of falling asleep in an uncomfortable sitting position or the phantom of that dream, in which he was shot dead at the border.</p>
<p>Is that a dream?</p>
<p>“Next time you can sleep on your bed. Or you will get an old neck like mine.”</p>
<p>Sean turns his head to find Esteban sitting at the other end of the couch. He has a magazine in hand but doesn’t seem to be reading it with any effort. Esteban looks at him and smiles.</p>
<p>“I’ll take the advice,” Sean says, rubbing his neck uncertainly.</p>
<p>“Everything OK, <em>mijo</em>?” Esteban asks.</p>
<p>Yes, everything’s fine. What could possibly go wrong on an ordinary, typical long day like this?</p>
<p>But then the pain arises in his body from his shoulder, wrist, stomach, everywhere, followed by anger, confusion, chagrin.</p>
<p>Words implying a negative rush out from him instead before he can realize.</p>
<p>“Dad, I miss you.”</p>
<p>“I know. I miss you too.”</p>
<p>“And I’m tired.”</p>
<p>“You’ve been through a lot. It’s OK to feel tired and have some rest for now.”</p>
<p>“I really hope you were here. I-I don’t know. I think I just… fucked everything up.” he stutters, pauses, and then continues to speak against a haze of bitterness clogging his throat.</p>
<p>Sean sinks deeper into the soft cushions. No matter how he tries to relax, his body is always stiff. He just wants to fall asleep again and to never wake up, leaving all the burning pain and heavy responsibilities once and for all.</p>
<p>“No, Sean. You are doing great. You are doing your best and I know that. You don’t need to blame yourself. You have made it to the border and that’s an incredible deed.”</p>
<p>“Except that I didn’t make it. I died. Because of my own stupidity.”</p>
<p>It’s not a dream, of course. It’s the stone-cold reality and truth. He died, after choosing to surrender to the police at the last stop of the journey. And death is probably another item on the long list of his wrongdoings: how can he leave Daniel alone, in a strange land, with a total mess to deal with?</p>
<p>“Did I do wrong? Is that a bad choice?” He asks, looking at Esteban with hope and fear as if waiting for a judgment.</p>
<p>And the judgment he gets is “Not Guilty”.</p>
<p>“No,” the man says firmly.</p>
<p>“Listen, Sean. It’s not what you did or the decisions you made. It’s just that the consequences coming from our choices are not always what we want or like. I know you chose to give in because you wanted Daniel to live a normal life in a safe place. And Daniel chose to force through the barrier because he wanted both of you to be free.”</p>
<p>Sean feels his heart withering at the mention of Daniel. He is the one making wrong decisions. He is the one who instilled his little brother with all that shiny image of freedom about a city, a country he’s only heard of. At this point, Sean can see everything crystal clear thanks to the lessons he gets at the cost of his own life. He was undoubtedly a bad influence on his little brother, which partly led to his own doom. It’s really not what he wants or likes, but here he is, leaving Daniel to pay for the prices.</p>
<p>“You both intend the best for each other, and this is what really matters,” Esteban continues.</p>
<p>“Huh. Yeah. Best intentions. Worst results.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be afraid to make choices, Sean. There may be better choices sometimes, but you’ll never know. It’s not like you can go back to a save point and reload the game to choose another path anyway. What you can do is to try your best with what you’ve got and I know this is what you have been doing.”</p>
<p>“Love that idea of going back to some save point. Wish I could do that.”</p>
<p>“You have to keep going forward instead of looking back. It’s the only way to right the wrong or just prove it right.”</p>
<p>“I’m just beat and tired. I’m not sure if I can ever make things right.”</p>
<p>“It’s hard, I understand. I’m so sorry I have to let you deal with everything all alone, but I have faith in you. You can do this.”</p>
<p>“But how? It’s too late. There’s nothing left I can do. I’m, I’m already-”</p>
<p>“Dead? Well, I can’t agree with you this time,” Esteban says with a light tone. “I really miss you, my son. Still, it’s too early to have you around for me. You just fell asleep and had a talk with your old man. Now it’s time to say goodbye.”</p>
<p>Sean looks at Esteban. The man has not changed or aged from the last time Sean saw him alive. For a moment he can’t tell what part of his life is a dream and what part reality. Or what part he wishes to be true and what part not.</p>
<p>“Already?”</p>
<p>“I’m afraid, yes. You can’t stay here for too long. Besides, there’s someone waiting for you. And we both know that Daniel is not a patient kid.”</p>
<p>They exchange a tacit smile. Something strong and bright is forming inside Sean’s body, shielding all the pain, fatigue, and dark thoughts out.</p>
<p>“Yeah. He grows up fast though.”</p>
<p>“You both grow up fast. Such a shame I’m not there with you.”</p>
<p>Esteban looks sentimental. Sean moves a little on the couch and hugs him in the warm, orange afternoon sunlight.</p>
<p>“I love you, Dad,” are the last words he says to his father, and this time the conversation ends smoothly with the “I love you too, son” reply, instead of being abruptly interrupted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>+++</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And “I love you” are the first words he utters after waking up in an unfamiliar room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All the brightness of the illusion collapses into a steady and calming picture of white. Sean soon realizes he is lying in some ward in a hospital.</p>
<p>Between Daniel and him, he used to be the healthy and strong athlete who is less likely to go to the hospital, but now he seems to be spending a whole lot of time there. An increasing numb, throbbing pain is biting at his shoulder, or collarbone, or neck, he can’t tell. Maybe it’s the painkiller, or maybe it’s that he’s gotten used to it, the pain is not unbearable.</p>
<p>The bluish-grey of the night is gathering beyond the window of the white room, making Sean’s fingers itch a little for the desire to sketch something down. But he can’t move. So he gives up using his only eye to take in information and turns to concentrate on his hearing.</p>
<p>Distant clatters of metal objects. Whisper in a language he understands well but has yet to get acquainted with. Monotonous beeps of some machine.</p>
<p>Sobbing.</p>
<p>Sean turns his head to find Daniel sitting on a stool or something beside the bed. He is trying to contain another sob and avoids Sean’s gaze when looked at.</p>
<p>“I’m-I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Sean,” Daniel says, voice trembling.</p>
<p>And Sean says I love you.</p>
<p>It’s not the logical reply to an apology. He just feels, all of a sudden, obliged to say this. You never know what will be your last words to the one you love, and Sean decides if he’s gonna die, at least he will not die without letting Daniel know that he loves him.</p>
<p>Daniel cries harder at those words yet manages to say I love you in return between tears.</p>
<p>Figuring out their current location and situation (it’s amazing that Daniel did all the first aid, driving, asking for help and stuff by himself and Sean is proud of him) and reassuring Daniel that he is not mad at him (well, not <em>that</em> mad) don’t take much time, but still, Daniel starts to yawn when they finally finish. He must be exhausted. Plus he is grazed by a bullet. It’s a long day after all.</p>
<p>Sean moves a little to allow Daniel to crawl into the bed and curl himself comfortably at Sean’s side.</p>
<p>Despite the drowsiness, the boy seems to reject the idea of going to sleep.</p>
<p>“What if something happens when I’m asleep? What if, what if…”</p>
<p>“Nothing will happen. I won’t go anywhere.”</p>
<p>“You promise?”</p>
<p>“I promise.”</p>
<p>Daniel drifts off so quickly before Sean proposes to tell a bedtime story.</p>
<p>Later they will definitely have a talk, about choices and how to make them, about what happened and what is to be done. They are in Mexico now and they need to start anew. This is not what Sean expected, but sometimes a change of plan is not that bad.</p>
<p>However, the plans can wait. Right now they can have a rest.</p>
<p>Choices to make. Promises to keep. Stories to tell. Sean dreams of many things that night. In every uncertainty yet to come in his life, one thing for sure is that, he is no longer scared of falling asleep or waking up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>English is not my first language so apologies if there are any typos or grammar issues.<br/>I just realized Lone Wols is actually the ending in which both Sean and Daniel try to do something for each other, and things just end disastrously... Why it has to be like this... So I wrote down my own version of the ending trying to fix it somehow and help myself recover.<br/>Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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